I’ve never bought into the genre writing vs. literary writing argument, because it doesn’t take too much research to find out which side makes most of the money.
You can’t eat accolades after all.
If you want to make a living from your writing, you have always had a better chance as a genre writer. But until a few years ago, it was still only a slim chance. If you are still pursuing the traditional publishing avenue, that slim chance is now next-to-no chance, as the sheer volume of work being submitted to the gatekeepers (publishers and agents) has got to where even high-quality work doesn’t make it through the slush pile.
Yet the reports say that speculative fiction (SpecFic), especially science fiction and fantasy, is experiencing a renaissance; that more SpecFic writers are making a decent living than ever before.
So why the contradiction—why is it even harder to get published, but more and more authors are making a good living?
There isn’t a contradiction in my view. The renaissance is merely the traditional publishing world finally recognising what has been going on for about 10 years now—independent publishers have not only stolen the keys to the kingdom, but they have run away with the crown jewels too!
For clarity, an independent publisher, or indie, is a professional who self-publishes their books either under their own name or through a publishing business they own. Not to be confused with the myriad small publishers who publish the work of multiple authors.
Indie published books accounted for over 50% of the Kindle Top 400 in 2023 and more that 30% of all book markets in 2025.
Of all the authors who debuted in the last five years, four out of every five authors making a decent living from their writing are indies. The median income for indie published authors is also more than double that of a traditionally published author.
Why is this?
The top reason is the difference in profit. Because indies cut out all the middlemen and distribute directly to readers through online platforms, royalties are much higher. Most indies earn 60%-70% of their sales income, compared to 10-15% for traditional publishing contracts. Many indies now sell directly to their readers, earning over 90% royalties.
Money isn’t everything, of course; your writing still has to be fun.
This is where I believe the true renaissance is. SpecFic writers have always explored the boundaries of the known (science fiction), dug deep into our psyches (horror and supernatural) and taken off into the realms of the impossible (fantasy). Traditional publishing has always struggled with SpecFic, because much of the really great stuff is very hard to massage into a financial spreadsheet.
Indies have no such constraints. We can fly the depths of our imaginations without fear of what a publisher might think—we only have to care about what readers like. We don’t have to worry about shifting 10,000 units in the first week to cover our massive overheads; we just upload our book and start the next one.
This has been a massive boon for women authors (who out-earn their male counterparts by about 40%) and traditionally marginalised groups like the neurodiverse and LGBTQIA+ authors.
Indies are also not limited to only engaging with their readers through the numbers on a royalty statement every three months. We get to chat to real people every day; readers who are as passionate about our writing as we are. We get to make a living, and our readers get to read what they love.
We get to have fun.
And everyone profits.